People of Helping Hand: Michele – Helping Hand

People of Helping Hand: Michele


Michele is a Lifestyle Assistant at our Lightsview home.

Helping Hand has just celebrated ten years of service from seven of its staff. We acknowledged this milestone on Thursday, 15 December 2022, the same day Lightsview celebrated its 10th birthday.

One of the staff members to receive a Certificate of Service from Chris Stewart, CEO, was Michele Villani who has been part of the Lightsview family since day one.

Asked why she has lasted this long her answer was quite simple – giving people purpose gives her purpose. She says that ‘helping people to achieve quality of life relative to their circumstances is incredibly rewarding, especially when you can make them happy’.

Before joining Helping Hand, Michele worked in a hospital as a patient services assistant for 17 years. She says leaving that job was the biggest decision she’d ever made, and the best. She thoroughly enjoyed a return to study and got her Carers Certificate at TAFE.

She moved from a Carer role, into a Resident Services Coordinator role at Lightsview before going on to further study. She completed a Lifestyle Certificate, became a Lifestyle Assistant – and loves it.

Jobs don’t always feel like work and for Michele working with older people is a rich experience. She says that the stories residents share with her are gifts. They take her to another place in time and provide details about someone’s personality and history. She has a lot of regard for the knowledge and experience that comes with age.

In addition, she says that working with older people is a great reminder to take each day as it comes. Her philosophy is that a bad day is just that. Every day is a new day. Don’t hold grudges and always start afresh.

Michele loves family. She comes from a close one herself. Each year she travels to Port Broughton with her sisters and her parents. It’s a special ritual just for them. She grew up close to her grandparents – one of whom reached the splendid age of 104 years!

For what it’s worth, Michele says she wouldn’t work anywhere else. She plans to retire from Lightsview but leave her nametag on the room that she’d like to move into!

People of Helping Hand Michele with Chris Stewart
Michelle receiving her Certificate of Service from CEO, Chris Stewart

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